Celebrity Big Brother

type

TV Show

genre

Reality

run date

02/07/18

performer

Julie Chen

broadcaster

CBS

seasons

1

After a ridiculously long recap at the top of the show (which ends with the best button of the season, “What’s a backdoor?”), Monday’s Celebrity Big Brother starts with some shade. Echoing back to a questionably timed throat clearing from Omarosa in the diary room following her hospitalization for asthma, host Julie Chen kicks off the hour-long live show with a winking cough.

But while Julie may not believe the severity of Omarosa’s condition, the houseguests are buying the former White House staffer’s seemingly frail state — and it changes the game in a big way.

In the minds of Brandi and Ariadna (or, as Brandi calls her, “the pretty one”), Omarosa is now the “weakest competitor” and therefore not a threat. Instead, this unlikely mindmeld believes, their alliance should focus on the “power duo” of Shannon and James.

They present their plan to Ross, who had been already contemplating backdooring Shannon. (Though he should probably explain that concept to Metta if he needs his vote to make that happen.) He says he’s on board if they can get the votes. But first, he has to talk to their other alliance member Marissa.

Marissa Jaret Winokur

Pause for another amazing cartoonish face and noise from Marissa in the kitchen.

No surprise, Marissa is tooootally on board to get her real-life friend Shannon out next if the opportunity arises.

Next step in plan American Bye (my words, not theirs), Marissa and Ross go to Mark to make sure they’d have the votes to get Shannon out if she ends up on the block. Mark, who admits in the diary room that he’s an intentional “floater,” tells them he sees the American Pie star as the biggest threat. “You have to take a shot when you can,” he says.

Ross and Marissa breathe a sigh of relief — until Mark says he wants to go tell the new plan to his bestie James, whom Ross and Marissa know is now working closely with Shannon. “No! No! No!” they say. And in true floater fashion, Mark backs down immediately. Crisis averted.

Pause for Metta and his new best friend, the backyard camera, having a hot tub convo before Metta (totally alone) stages and narrates a wrestling match between two tiny inflatable pink flamingos. The winner’s prize? Being placed on Metta’s head like a crown.

The new dominant alliance — Ross, Marissa, Brandi, and Ariadna — confab in the HoH room and are reveling in the idea of Shannon going home, but their party is interrupted by a knock at the door. It’s Shannon. Rather than just changing the subject, they go full Halloween partypooper and turn off the lights and pretend to be asleep…all four of them…with one bed…

Another commercial and then it’s time for the Power of Veto competition. Titled “Now You See It,” this competition has two houseguests facing off at a time to answer questions about photoshopped “billboards” with the houseguests in different strange celebrity cruise scenarios. The houseguests must determine if the answer to each question is “more,” “less,” or “exactly,” and the winner of each round picks the next two houseguests to face off.

Here’s the bullet points of how things go:

Keshia beats Ross. She picks Shannon and Omarosa to face off.

Omarosa beats Shannon. She picks Ariadna and Marissa to face off.

Marissa beats Ariadna. Omarosa and Keshia are the only people left to choose to compete.

Omarosa wins and must face off against Marissa.

Marissa wins the final round and — in addition to winning the Power of Veto — she gets a super awkward hug from Omarosa.

Julie announces the show is going to commercial, but the cameras keep going as Marissa approaches an emotional Keshia. “Whatever you want,” the camera picks up Marissa telling Keshia. It’s unclear at the time exactly what’s going on but there’s mention of breast milk and Keshia says that things “bigger than the game” are at play. She’s in tears as Omarosa comes to take her away from Marissa and her alliance members. Marissa trails after them still asking Keshia what she wants to do.

When the show comes back, it’s time for the Veto meeting.

“Normally this is a plea to stay but — I’ve fought very hard in this game and I really wanted to compete and be here with you all [but] there’s nothing more important than my baby. So, I apologize but please use every ounce of compassion that you have to send me home,” says Keshia, who apparently has not been able to produce as much breast milk as she had been before coming into the house.

It seems like she’s ready to bow out gracefully for the sake of her 1-year-old daughter, but the former Cosby Show star can’t help but go out driving a bus over Shannon. Keshia tells James that her nominating him was just her doing Shannon’s “dirty work.”

Omarosa decides to wax poetic for her speech: “No man is your friend; no man is your foe; every man is your teacher. Please make the decision that’s best for…Keshia.” The speech is appropriately met with laughter from the live audience outside the house.

Unsurprisingly, the house votes unanimously to evict Keshia. (Though, maybe a little surprisingly since, as of a few days ago, Metta didn’t understand how voting worked in Big Brother.)

After exiting the house, Keshia tells Julie that her breast milk supply had “started to diminish” and she “knew I had to make a decision” and put her daughter’s health before her competitive spirit.

When asked if she was throwing Shannon under the bus with her Veto meeting speech, Keshia replied, “I hope so. I’m not going to lie. I’ve been very honest and upfront with my game…She caused a lot of divide and I was like, I don’t have anything to lose. [James] can trust what I’m saying.”

After Julie lists out the 9,000 episodes of Big Brother airing over the next week, the cameras cut back into the house and Marissa is heard saying that she wishes she could have used the Veto. But that does beg the question: How much do Shannon and James know about the backdoor plan? And how will Keshia’s Veto speech affect Shannon and James’ alliance? And what will Omarosa do without her #BlackGirlMagic partner? And what happened to the flamingo that lost the fight?!